hotel porter jobs trainee hotel jobs hotel london jobs human resources manager jobs internet sales jobs web jobs web developer jobs Programmer jobs legal administration jobs house legal jobs graduate legal jobs manufacturing engineer jobs maintenance engineer jobs marketing assistant jobs brand marketing jobs media production jobs guardian media jobs nhs nursing jobs nhs physiotherapy jobs nhs graduate jobs school admin jobs secretarial jobs biomedical jobs drug safety jobs Production planner jobs Production supervisor jobs Property jobs copy editing jobs life sciences jobs loss prevention jobs

When and Where the Affluent Shop for December Holiday Gifts

The majority of the affluent will do most of their shopping for holiday gifts during the first two weeks of December, and traditional department stores will be the most important source of gifts, based on dollars spent, according to a recent survey of the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households.

About one in four said they would do most of their holiday gift shopping before Thanksgiving, while 60% plan to do most of their shopping during the first two weeks of December. About 12% plan to wait until the week before the holiday. A total of 3% will wait until the after holiday sales. Only a few (4%) planned to venture out to do most of their shopping during the busy Thanksgiving weekend, often the biggest shopping days of all for many.

The traditional department store will be the number one gift source for 32% of all respondents, with discount department stores and specialty retail stores virtually tied at about one in five of the affluent shoppers. Named by 16%, the internet will be a close fourth.

The discount department store and the internet were named more frequently than in 2004 as the most important source, as the first place mentions for traditional department stores and specialty retail stores declined slightly.

Traditional department stores, at 75% of the respondents, received the most total mentions. Specialty retail stores at 66% were in second place, discount department stores at 56% were third, and the internet at 53% was fourth. Total mentions of discount department stores increased as wealth declined, and total mentions of the internet were highest among those under 50 (64%) and those with incomes above $200,000 (58%).

These results were obtained from the recently completed Fall 2005 "Affluent Market Tracking Study #8" by The American Affluence Research Center. A continuing series of twice-yearly surveys, these studies track the 12- month economic outlook and spending plans of the wealthiest 10% of Americans, the 11 million households representing about half of all consumer income and spending and a third of the total US economy. These are the consumers who have helped the more upscale retailers to out perform others in recent years.

The survey participants were asked to rank their first, second, and third most important sources of gifts based on the total dollar value of gifts purchased.

Highlights of the national survey of 448 men and women in the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households can be found on the AARC website, www.affluenceresearch.org. The survey participants have an average income of $308,000 and an average net worth of $2.7 million. The survey has a 5% margin of error at the 95% confidence level.

About the author: Ron Kurtz is a principal of The American Affluence Research Center and The Management Resource Group. Both companies provide marketing research and strategic planning services to prominent clients in the travel and hospitality industries, especially those targeting the affluent market. Ron earned his MBA at Harvard Business School.

For further information: http://www.affluenceresearch.org and http://www.mrgconsultants.com

Author: Ron Kurtz
Aluminium Folding Doors Aluminium Folding Doors Colour Options Aluminium Folding Door Threshold Options Bifolding Doors Survey Guide Folding Doors Installation Guide UPVC Folding Doors Folding Doors Stable Doors Composite Doors Front Doors Replacement Doors android appa and iphone apps - recruitment applications - mobile recruiting Aluminium Folding Doors and Aluminium Sliding Patio Doors Folding Doors Aluminium Folding Doors Bi Folding Doors Sliding Patio Doors Aluminium Patio Doors Sliding Doors Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Bedford Folding Doors Bicester Aluminium Folding Doors Birmingham Bi Folding Doors Braintree Sliding Patio Doors Buckingham Aluminium Patio Doors Cambridge Sliding Doors Chelmsford Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Coalville Folding Doors Corby Aluminium Folding Doors Daventry Bi Folding Doors Derby Sliding Patio Doors Dunstable Aluminium Patio Doors Gerrards Cross Sliding Doors Harpenden Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Hatfield Folding Doors Hemel Hempstead Aluminium Folding Doors High Wycombe Bi Folding Doors Hitchin Sliding Patio Doors Kettering Aluminium Patio Doors Leamington Spa Sliding Doors Leicester Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Leighton Buzzard Folding Doors Letchworth Aluminium Folding Doors Lincoln Bi Folding Doors London Sliding Patio Doors Luton Aluminium Patio Doors Lutterworth Sliding Doors Market Harborough Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Milton Keynes Folding Doors Northampton Aluminium Folding Doors Nottingham Bi Folding Doors Nuneaton Sliding Patio Doors Oakham Aluminium Patio Doors Oxford Sliding Doors Peterborough Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Rugby Folding Doors Rushden Aluminium Folding Doors Solihull Bi Folding Doors Spalding Sliding Patio Doors St Albans Aluminium Patio Doors Stamford Sliding Doors Stevenage Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Stratford Folding Doors Towcester Aluminium Folding Doors Waltham Cross Bi Folding Doors Ware Sliding Patio Doors Warwick Aluminium Patio Doors Watford Sliding Doors Wellingborough Folding Doors and Sliding Patio Doors Welwyn Garden City Folding Doors Wolverhampton Aluminium Folding Doors Potters Bar Bi Folding Doors Hertford Sliding Patio Doors Aylesbury